Fastening system for appliance cabinet assembly

ABSTRACT

An appliance cabinet side wall is secured to a front frame member by a first mechanical fastening element of a fastening system. Subsequently, a trim piece is attached along the side wall through the use of a second mechanical fastening element which is threadably connected to the first fastening element. Most preferably, a blind-type rivnut is utilized to prevent any foam, used in insulating the cabinet, from leaking. Utilizing multi-functioning mechanical fastening elements minimizes the number of assembly components, eases assembly and enables the trim piece to be easily removed and/or replaced in case of damage, or even if the consumer desires to simply utilize a trim piece of another color or design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to the art of appliances and, moreparticularly, to a fastening system for use in interconnecting, duringvarying stages of an overall assembly process, main and trim componentsof an overall appliance cabinet.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

In constructing an appliance cabinet, particularly a refrigeratorcabinet, it is highly desirable to simplify the overall assembly of thecabinet to reduce manufacturing costs, yet it is imperative that thecabinet be structurally sound in order to counteract loads exertedthereon during use of the appliance. Mainly due to cost efficiencies andflexibility in workmanship, it has been commonplace to utilize sheetmetal in the forming of most refrigerator cabinets in the market today.Since the sheet metal is thin and rather high loads are often placed onthe cabinet, particularly by the opening and closing of a weighted downrefrigerator door, a fair amount of effort has been applied in this artto provide reinforcement for such a refrigerator cabinet. Of course, anadditional concern is the ease of assembly of the cabinet as a whole.

With this in mind, it has heretofore been proposed to form the sides andtop of a refrigerator cabinet shell out of a single piece of bent sheetmetal and then attach rear and bottom walls. Thereafter, the shell isstructurally reinforced in an attempt to avoid deformation during use.Such known reinforcing arrangements generally take the form of eitherproviding multiple, individually secured reinforcement members or aunitary reinforcing frame at a front opening of the cabinet shell. Atleast the sides of the shell are attached to the frame to integrate theoverall assembly. To perform this assembly operation, either variousholes provided in both the cabinet shell and the reinforcement member(s)must be aligned to receive mechanical fasteners or systematic weldingoperations are performed. In either case, these connections are designedto perform the sole function of interconnecting the shell to thereinforcement structure.

In today's market, it is becoming more popular to recess refrigeratorsbetween adjacent cabinetry or the like in a kitchen area in order toprovide a built-in look which is considered aesthetically appealing.Since front doors of a refrigerator must be spaced from any adjacentstructure in order to enable the free pivoting of the doors, therefrigerator must project from the adjacent structure to some degree.Unfortunately, the projecting of the refrigerator cabinet in this mannerexposes, to a certain degree, frontal portions of the side walls of thecabinet which is considered to detract from the built-in appearance.

To compensate for this negative effect, it has been proposed to providecosmetic trim pieces along exposed side portions of the cabinet to blendthe sides with the adjacent structure. In such known arrangements, thetrim pieces are individually attached to the cabinet shell throughslip-fit or dedicated mechanical connections. Since both sides of theshell and the trim pieces need to be attached to the frame structure,all at a frontal peripheral portion of the cabinet shell, a fairly highnumber of connection locations need to be defined in a relatively smallzone which can adversely affect the structural integrity. In addition,the need for the unrelated connections in this peripheral portion simplyadds to the overall assembly time.

Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for an improvedassembly arrangement for a refrigerator cabinet which minimizes the costand time associated with connecting both side portions of a shell to oneor more frontal frame members and trim pieces to the side portions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is particularly directed to a fastening systemused to secure an appliance cabinet side wall or panel to a front framemember and in subsequently securing a trim piece to the frame memberalong the side wall. In general, the attachment of the cabinet side walloccurs prior to a foaming insulation process, while the trim piece isattached at a much later assembly stage. Regardless, the fasteningstages are interrelated through the use of at least certain commonfastening elements of the fastening system.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, rivnuts areused to secure the cabinet front frame and each side wall together.After assembly of the cabinet shell, the foaming operation is performed.Most preferably, blind-type rivnuts are utilized to prevent any foaminsulation leakage directly through or around the perimeter of therivnuts. After the foaming process, a threaded internal portion of eachrivnut is utilized to attach a respective perimeter trim piece to thecabinet shell through a respective screw. Utilizing screws to attach thetrim piece enables the trim piece to be easily removed and/or replacedin case of damage, or even if the consumer desires to simply utilize atrim piece of another color or design.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more fully apparent from the following detailed descriptionof a preferred embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with thedrawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts inthe several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a recessed refrigerator cabinet assemblyincorporating trim pieces fastened in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the refrigerator cabinet assembly of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, exploded view of a portion of the refrigeratorcabinet assembly of FIG. 2 showing the components of the overallfastening system in detail; and

FIG. 4 is a top, assembled view of the fastening system of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With initial reference to FIG. 1, a refrigerator constructed inaccordance with the present invention is generally indicated at 2.Refrigerator 2 is shown to include a freezer door 6 having an associatedhandle 7 and a fresh food door 10 having an associated handle 11. In theembodiment shown, refrigerator 2 is of the recessed type such that,essentially, only freezer and fresh food door 6 and 10 project forwardof a wall 15. The remainder of refrigerator 2 is recessed within wall 15in a manner similar to a plurality of surrounding cabinets generallyindicated at 18-23. Refrigerator 2 also includes a plurality ofperipheral trim pieces 28-30. In accordance with the most preferredembodiment of the invention, trim pieces 28-30 are formed of aluminum.However, other materials, such as plastic, could also be utilized. Theconfiguration and mounting of trim pieces 28-30 form an aspect of thepresent invention as will be detailed more fully below. Finally, itshould be noted that refrigerator 2 is preferably designed with maincomponents of a refrigeration system positioned behind an access panel32 arranged directly above trim piece 29 as clearly shown in thisFigure.

Although refrigerator 2 can take various forms, FIG. 2 represents, inexploded view form, the main cabinet components of refrigerator 2. Asillustrated, refrigerator 2 includes a front frame 40 including aplurality of laterally spaced upstanding frame members 43-45 which areinterconnected by upper and lower cross frame members 49 and 50.Refrigerator 2 also includes a freezer compartment box 55 defined byinterconnected side, bottom, top and back panels 57-61. In a similarfashion, a fresh food compartment box 65 is formed from side, bottom,top and back panels 67-71. As freezer compartment box 55 and fresh foodcompartment box 65 are preferably formed as separate units, they areintegrated into an overall refrigerator cabinet assembly by front frame40 and an outer shell as defined by side walls 80 and 81, a back wall 82which is preferably defined by four separate panels 82 a-82 d, a bottomwall 83, a top cover member 84 and a front cover member 85. As will bedetailed more fully below, front frame 40 is adapted to be attached toforward portions of each of side walls 80 and 81 such that, front frame40, freezer compartment box 55, fresh food compartment box 65, sidewalls 80, 81, back wall 82, bottom wall 83, top cover member 84 andfront cover member 85 are all integrated together. Also provided aboutopenings (not separately labeled) defined by front frame 40 areassociated peripheral breaker elements 90 and 91 that are adapted tocooperate with freezer door 6 and fresh food door 10 in defining sealedfreezer and fresh food compartments within boxes 55 and 65 respectively.

For the sake of simplicity, the various components of a conventionalrefrigeration circuit have not been shown. However, with thisconfiguration of refrigerator 2, the various compressor, condenser,evaporator and the like components are preferably supported upon toppanel 60 of freezer compartment box 55, as well as top cover member 84.In accordance with the most preferred embodiment of the invention, theevaporator is supported above freezer compartment box 55 while thecompressor and condenser are located above fresh food compartment box65, with each of these components being accessible upon removing accesspanel 32.

The present invention is particularly directed to the preferred mannerin which front frame 40 is interconnected to each of side walls 80 and81, top cover member 84 and front cover member 85, along with the mannerin which trim pieces 28-30 are also attached to these components.Specifically, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown, by way ofexample, a section of side wall 80, a portion of upstanding frame member43 and a section of trim piece 28. The manner in which these componentsare interconnected will now be described in detail and it is to beunderstood that corresponding connections are utilized for the other,identified components. As shown, upstanding frame member 43 generallytakes the form of a U-shaped channel defined by inner and outer legs 104and 105 which are interconnected by a front leg 106. Outer leg 105 wrapsaround a front portion 108 of side wall 80. Trim piece 28, outer leg 105and side wall 80 are formed with respective, aligned apertures 110-112.Trim piece 28 includes a main body 116 formed with a plurality ofelongated spaced ribs 119-121 projecting toward side panel 80 and outerleg 105. Spaced forward from ribs 119-121, main body 116 has projectingtherefrom a flange 124. The forwardmost end 128 of trim piece 28 isin-turned so as to define a channel 130.

The manner in which front frame 40, sidewall 80 and trim piece 28 areinterconnected together in accordance with the present inventionincludes the use of a rivnut 138. Rivnut 138 includes a first fasteningelement 140 having a cylindrical main body 142. A first end 144 of mainbody 142 is flared, while a second end 149 is tapered. First end 144 ispreferably open such that main body 142 defines an internal bore 154that is threaded. On the other hand, second end 149 is preferably closedsuch that rivnut 138 is of the blind-type. As also shown, main body 142of first fastening element 140 includes an outer splined portion 155directly adjacent the flared first end 144. Rivnut 138 also includes asecond mechanical fastening element 160 that takes the form of aflat-head screw.

At this point, it should be noted that rivnuts are known in the art.However, in accordance with the present invention, each rivnut 138 isadvantageously utilized to interconnect multiple components ofrefrigerator 2 during different stages of the overall construction,while minimizing components and overall assembly time and cost. In anyevent, cylindrical main body 142 is adapted to interconnect outer leg105 of front frame 40 to sidewall 80 by extending through apertures 111and 112 respectively and then being pressed into place such that bothouter leg 105 and sidewall 80 become positioned directly adjacent toflared first end 144 along outer spline portion 155. A tool is then usedto collapse rivnut 138 at outer spline portion 155 to form a throat 170that holds outer leg 105 and sidewall 80 together between the flaredfirst end 144 and the bulging section of outer spline portion 155. Thisconfiguration is clearly shown in FIG. 4. Due to the tapering of secondend 149, the insertion of cylindrical main body 142 through, as well asthe alignment of, apertures 111 and 112 is enhanced. Furthermore, sincesecond end 149 of main body 142 is closed, foam insulation can beinjected between compartment boxes 55, 56 and sidewalls 80, 81, backwall82, top cover member 84 and front cover member 85 for insulationpurposes. The use of foamed insulation is also widely known in the artof refrigerators and therefore this operation will not be discussed indetail. However, it will be readily recognized that the foam canessentially be injected at one location and will meander through allcracks and crevices. Thereafter, when the foam cures, considerablestructural integrity is given to the overall refrigerator 2. Given thatsecond end 149 is closed, injected foam will not be able to leak throughcylindrical main body 142.

During a latter stage of assembly, trim piece 28 can be positioned suchthat each aperture 110 provided therein gets aligned with a respectiveinternal bore 154 such that second fastening element 160 can bethreadably attached to first fastening element 140. Therefore, in thismanner, cylindrical main body 142 functions not only as the fasteningmember between front frame 40 and sidewall 80, but also as an anchor fortrim piece 28. When trim piece 28 is secured in this fashion, spacerribs 119-121 accommodate flared first end 144 of first fastening element140 and abut against a respective one of sidewall 80 and outer leg 105as clearly shown in FIG. 4. In addition, flange 124 extends in front ofand preferably abuts front leg 106 of front frame 40 to visually closeoff the gap created by spacer ribs 119-121. Although not specificallyshown in FIG. 4, it should be realized that the area forward of frontleg 106 and to the side of trim piece 28 is later occupied by freezerdoor 6. Therefore, the thickness of freezer door 6, along with anassociated sealing breaker (not shown), is used to define the preferredextent to which trim piece 28 projects forward of front frame 40. Withthe inclusion of channel 130, a decorative panel 165 can be readilyconnected to the overall refrigerator 2 in order to blend with aremainder of cabinets 18-23. That is, trim pieces 28-30 and/ordecorative panel 165 can be of different colors which can be selected bythe consumer. In any event, the overall use of trim pieces 28-30 anddecorative panel 165 provides a further built-in look to refrigerator 2which is considered to be advantageous in accordance with the presentinvention.

Although described with respect to a preferred embodiment of theinvention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/ormodifications can be made to the invention without departing from thespirit thereof. Particularly, it should be realized that the fasteningsystem of the invention has applicability to various types ofrefrigerators, as well as other appliances. In any event, the inventionis only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A method of assembling an appliance cabinetcomprising: attaching a forward portion of a cabinet side wall to afront frame member through a first mechanical fastening member; andattaching an exterior trim piece at the forward portion of the cabinetside wall by directly interconnecting a second mechanical fasteningmember to the first mechanical fastening member through the exteriortrim piece.
 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the secondmechanical fastening member is threaded into the first mechanicalfastening member.
 19. The method according to claim 17, wherein theforward portion of the cabinet side wall is attached to the front framemember along an exterior splined portion of the first mechanicalfastening member.
 20. The method according to claim 17, furthercomprising: positioning a decorative panel within a channel defined bythe exterior trim piece.